


pointing at the moon

by wideningsky



Category: NCT (Band), Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Bodyguard Suh Youngho | Johnny, Friends to Lovers, Hm eventual competition for Jaehyun's hand, Jaehyun is oblivious and flirty, M/M, Prince Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun, Slow Burn, johnny is whipped
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27964247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wideningsky/pseuds/wideningsky
Summary: No news typically means good news in Jaehyun’s case, and recently Johnny has been starting to think of his unofficial job description as “Babysitting Bratty Princes and Other Extreme Sports”. When Johnny was assigned to be a member of the Royal Guard at Hanseong Castle, he thought daily concerns would involve the security of buildings and maybe occasional assassination attempts. But instead his hours are occupied with the protection of a chaotic being who ditches class twice a month and sneaks out to town for parades. Johnny’s charge, aka. His Royal Highness third-in-line-to-the-throne Prince Jaehyun, is handsome, well-liked, and also a complete pain in the ass—usually Johnny’s ass.orJaehyun is a prince, Johnny is his bodyguard, and it takes a competition for Jaehyun's hand in marriage for them to finally confront their feelings.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 3
Kudos: 14
Collections: Coffee Dates Fest [1st Round]





	pointing at the moon

**Author's Note:**

> For order number #0015: Jaehyun is a prince, and he knew that someday he would have to marry. That's why when his father tells him that he has organised a competition and the best of the participants will win Jaehyun's hand, Jaehyun thinks is the perfect opportunity and asks his knight Johnny to compete for his hand. This way he can save himself of a marriage with someone he doesn't know... And maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't be too upset if he had to marry Johnny.
> 
> Dear prompter, I really hope you like what I have written so far! I loved this prompt and wanted to create the story it deserves <3

“He was pointing at the moon, but I was looking at his hand.”

―Richard Siken

Even if you want a sun in the middle of the night, I’ll find it for you

I’ll be the person who can find you anywhere you go

Just call me wherever, even if it’s at the end of the world

—NCT 127

\--

“What do you mean the prince is missing?” _Again_ —Johnny’s brain supplies helpfully, as if he needs another reminder of how much Jung Jaehyun loves making his job harder than it should be.

The young servant who brought the message looks petrified, eyes blinking furiously and entire body quivering like a bowstring seconds after release.

He stammers incoherently for a bit, finally managing to say, “I...d-don’t know? Sir? They uh j-just told me to tell you that Prince Jaehyun left class to go to the bathroom and never went back and now he’s supposed to be at a military council and Prince Taeil has been looking for him and uh I guess you haven’t seen him either? Sir.” Those last couple words are blurted out in a high-pitched squeak, and the boy trails off, whispering a hushed “sorry sir” to the polished floor.

Johnny tries to rearrange his frown into something less intimidating; after all, it’s not this poor guy’s fault that he was chosen as unlucky messenger. He crouches down, balancing on the balls of his feet to get on eye level with the servant.

“Hey.” Johnny waits for him to meet his eyes before smiling softly and asking, “What’s your name, kid?”

“Yoonseo, sir.”

“Well Yoonseo, you did a really good job finding me and letting me know about Prince Jaehyun.” Johnny winks, straightening up and patting Yoonseo on the head. “Keep it up and try not to get in trouble like the prince.”

Johnny watches Yoonseo scurry down a hallway in the direction of the kitchens before making his own way towards…absolutely nowhere. He hasn’t set a final destination yet, but maybe if he wanders mindlessly for long enough the gods will have mercy and subconsciously guide him right to wherever the hell Jaehyun’s hidden. Or not. Sighing deeply, Johnny leans against the wall.

No news typically means good news in Jaehyun’s case, and recently Johnny has been starting to think of his unofficial job description as “Babysitting Bratty Princes and Other Extreme Sports”. When Johnny was assigned to be a member of the Royal Guard at Hanseong Castle, he thought daily concerns would involve the security of buildings and maybe occasional assassination attempts. But instead his hours are occupied with the protection of a chaotic being who ditches class twice a month and sneaks out to town for parades. Johnny’s charge, aka. His Royal Highness third-in-line-to-the-throne Prince Jaehyun, is handsome, well-liked, and also a complete pain in the ass—usually Johnny’s ass.

This woeful train of thought is interrupted by an amused voice asking, “Contemplating the secrets of the universe, Sir Johnny? Or are you having war flashbacks to the Library Incident?”

Johnny shudders, images of said Incident flashing before his eyes (teenage Jaehyun falling asleep on top of a bookshelf for nine hours, the King nearly declaring it a royal kidnapping, Johnny being yelled at and blamed by practically everyone). He turns to see Wendy drawing closer, and _yeah_ she’s definitely enjoying his look of pain.

Wendy’s a fellow guard and probably the closest friend he has besides Jaehyun, though at times she acts more like an insufferable older sister.

When Johnny arrived at the castle as a knight-in-training ten years ago, he was utterly terrified and barely passable at Korean. His upper-class diplomat parents had recently gone through a very messy, very public divorce that ate up the majority of their money and energy. Johnny ended up being shipped back to Hanseong alone to attend military academy. For an indefinite period of time.

The first time he met Wendy in the training yard, Johnny was still a petulant twelve-year-old who made up for his insecurities with an overly cocky attitude. So of course he had the bright idea to challenge her to arm wrestling. Johnny ended up with a sprained wrist and bruised pride, but from then on Wendy essentially adopted him. She was the only other person his age who spoke English, having attended boarding school overseas for a couple years, and talking to her was the only thing that kept Johnny sane his first year in Korea. 

“I heard you lost a prince.” A decade later and Wendy’s still keeping him humble.

She laughs, adjusting the sword at her hip before continuing. “When I was patrolling with Sooyoung—you better buy me a three course meal plus dessert next time we go to town—I may or may not have seen somebody on the roof of Prince Jaehyun’s quarters. Definitely your boy.”

“If they were a thief, you’re so so fucked.” Johnny can’t resist such a prime opportunity to tease Wendy. “Don’t worry, I’ll visit you in prison and stuff.”

“Asshole. I know the difference between burglars and royals, y’know he _really_ thought I couldn’t see him perched there like a gargoyle. Kid was always the shittiest at hide-and-seek.” Wendy rolls her eyes. “Now go make sure Prince Jae hasn’t broken into a warehouse and stolen firecrackers to use for his next prank or whatever.”

\--

Johnny nods at the two guards positioned on either side of Jaehyun’s bedchamber doors; he’s not particularly surprised that they turned a blind eye to the prince’s antics, considering his royal status and penchant for mischief—they probably have more than a couple stories to tell about the things Jaehyun gets up to behind closed doors. Johnny should invite them out for drinks someday and gather blackmail material. Or maybe there are things better left unrevealed when it comes to Jaehyun.

Quietly, Johnny slips into the room and makes a beeline for the thrown-open window. He hesitates upon reaching it, because every one of Johnny’s bodyguard instincts is telling him to avoid the obvious safety hazard and not climb out of it like a lunatic. He sighs.

“Hey.” Johnny hoists himself onto the sloping, ridged roof, panting as he tries to simultaneously greet Jaehyun and keep his balance on the windowsill. 

“Hey. Took you long enough.” Jaehyun appears unimpressed by Johnny’s struggle, though he does make an effort to grab his flailing hand and help him up.

Johnny lays down on the sun-warmed tiles, turning to face Jaehyun’s hunched back. “What’s on your mind?”

“What if nothing’s on my mind? Maybe I’m just sitting here to be dramatic,” Jaehyun replies, examining the fingernails on his left hand instead of meeting Johnny’s eyes.

“Yah, I know you well enough to see through this rebellious-phase bullshit, so don’t play the ‘acting out for shits and giggles’ card with me.” Johnny almost gives Jaehyun his customary shoulder-bump and then remembers that they’re dangling four floors above very solid ground. “Let me guess, you let Wendy spot you so I’d get here faster?”

“Mm. I’m smarter than people give me credit for, hyung.”

“Yeah, I know.” There’s a brief lull in conversation as Johnny silently observes the intermittent groups of people streaming in and out of buildings that surround the central courtyard below. “Spit it out already Jae, you literally never call me hyung unless you’ve fucked stuff up that I need to take care of or you want something from me.”

“Father sent over this note with an errand boy last night.” Jaehyun carefully extracts a creased scroll from his pocket, passing it over to Johnny without bothering to unfurl it himself.

Graceful ink characters spell out: _It would behoove you to pay me a visit here at Inner Court tomorrow. Four PM. Bring Johnny and don’t be late._

Johnny squints at the neatly displayed message, wondering if he’d missed some sort of implied threat. “The king probably just wanted to see your face; he _did_ just come back from a visit to the Isles.”

“Please, both of us are well aware that the only time my father summons me to court is to scold me or assign me mind-numbingly boring diplomatic tasks—the man is never this polite either,” Jaehyun says, running a hand through his already very disheveled hair, “and he’s typically more eloquent and like, unnecessarily poetic.”

“I think you’re overthinking it,” Johnny insists. He can hear the annoyance creeping into his voice. “Was this really worth blowing off the military council?”

Jaehyun has the decency to look at least somewhat guilty. “I don’t know,” he mutters, “things have been…tense lately. Irene has only come back to Hanseong twice in the past six months, and her letters are never optimistic. I know father’s dealing with border skirmishes and weird nobility disagreements over tax policies as well, and Taeil seems constantly stressed out of his mind. We’re gonna have to be careful.”

Johnny sits up. He occasionally forgets that while Jaehyun may be disobedient at times, he’s certainly not naïve. Jaehyun is the cause of Johnny’s premature hair lose, but he’s also a twenty-year-old member of the royal family whose status as third in line to the throne leaves him politically suspended between complex roles. The eldest Jung sibling, Irene, is next in the line of succession, and Taeil holds a leadership position in Hanseong province’s army, but Jaehyun’s status is basically undefined. The prince probably has more things to worry about at once than Johnny will have over his entire lifetime, and he’s never been the type to actively confide in people.

“You know I’m always on your side,” Johnny says.

For a quick second, so fleeting that Johnny wonders if he might have imagined it all together, Jaehyun’s reserved countenance falters. It’s barely there—an imperceptible widening of his eyes and the shadow of a dimple, but Johnny has learned to read Jaehyun better than anybody else.

Then Jaehyun laughs, shattering whatever impression of vulnerability that might have momentarily surfaced.

Resting his head on Johnny’s shoulder, Jaehyun goes on. “Yeah well, father asked for you directly, so you’re coming with me to Inner Court. Don’t even bother trying to wriggle yourself out of it.”

“I hate that place,” Johnny complains.

Jaehyun, the little shit, looks more amused than sympathetic. “Is it because my sister keeps flirting with you? You know Yerim isn’t serious when she does that stuff, I’ve caught her winking at your friend Wendy as well—pretty sure she lowkey has a crush on her.”

“No, it’s because everybody in that place looks at me like they want to tear me apart and feed the pieces to rabid wolves. Except for Yerim I guess, she just teases me non-stop for being cuter than you.” Johnny pulls his shoulder away, ignoring Jaehyun’s kicked puppy expression. “Whenever you drag me there for I swear I can smell the power-hungry advisors lurking.”

“What do power-hungry advisors smell like, may I ask?”

Johnny pretends to think about Jaehyun’s question _very_ seriously. “Ambition and rotten tangerines.”

“Sure,” Jaehyun laughs again. “I’ll keep you safe though, hyung.”

“Stop trying to take my job.” Johnny lowers himself back into Jaehyun’s bedroom, making sure not to scuff the carpet with his dirty boot. “And don’t suddenly use honorifics like that, it’s making me nervous.”

“Hyuuung, I don’t wanna go down,” Jaehyun whines.

“I can make the guards outside come and drag you in, if that’s what you prefer,” Johnny calls out the window. He listens in satisfaction as Jaehyun begins scrambling off the roof, even though the prince makes sure Johnny can also hear him cursing under his breath. 

“Let’s go out for lunch—”

“Oh no way Jaehyun, you’re not skipping any more appointments.” Johnny keeps a firm grip on the prince’s wrist, wincing when his stomach growls and Jaehyun smiles smugly. “Heirs to the kingdom need to be educated, and I need to have a job. The more you learn, the lower my chance of getting fired—and if the king decides to replace me with Wendy, I promise she’ll tie you to a chair for classes.”

Jaehyun stops protesting.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at [ne0champagne](https://twitter.com/ne0champagne) on twitter !!


End file.
